Ashwin Salvi is the Co-Founder and COO of AtmosZero. They create electrified boilers to replace traditional fossil-fuel-burning boilers in industrial settings.

Steam touches a huge amount of products that we, as consumers, use every day, and AtmosZero is helping decarbonize that. 

Today, Ashwin shares his story, and we discuss:

• How they solved the cost issue by making a drop-in replacement 
• How they built their pilot at the same scale as their commercial unit 
• The tradeoffs of building in stealth
• How they are building to win even without subsidies 

And much more.

Enjoy the episode!

Resources Mentioned
Book Recommendation: Empires of Light by Jill Jonne
Podcast Recommendations: Founders Podcast by David Senra AND How to Take Over the World by Ben Wilson
Connect with Ashwin Salvi: Email: [email protected]

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Topics:
**01:58 Introduction and Background
**10:03 Creating a Standardized Solution for Decarbonization
**24:03 Return on Investment and Future Plans
**25:42 De-risking and Mass Manufacturing
**29:23 Challenges and Objections
**39:32 First Commercial Deployment
**48:48 Opportunities in Electrical Availability and Funding
**51: 38 Takeaways

-----
Links:
**Ashwin Salvi | AtmosZero
**Follow CleanTechies on LinkedIn:
**@Silas & @Somil_Agg on X 

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Today, we are talking to Toby Ferenczi from Granular Energy.

In this electrifying (ha!) episode, we finally tracked down the elusive Toby Ferenczi, a man who juggles startups like they're hot potatoes. ⚡️

Toby educates us about the world of electricity transparency and trading.

Did you know you can trade electricity like stocks? Neither did we! And it doesn’t exactly work like that…but it got your interest, didn’t it?? 🤔

From his days at Cambridge to co-founding Granular Energy, Toby has journeyed in solar starting with solar panel materials with this PhDs, working at GE, and later through startup exits.

He even founded a nonprofit for timestamped energy certificates—because, why not?

If you've ever wondered where your electricity comes from or how to make a clean energy choice, this episode is a shocker in the best way possible. 💥
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-----
Topics:
**02:42 Introduction
**05:00 Enabling Customers to Choose Clean Energy
**08:20 The Role of Electricity Markets
**10:43 Journey as an Entrepreneur 
**14:46 Transparency in the Energy Industry
**20:50 Understanding the Utility Business Model 
**25:28 Opportunities to Bypass Utilities
**30:49 Fundraising
**33:50 The Future of the Solar Industry
**43:24 Opportunities in the Market

-----
Links:
**Toby Ferenczi | Granular Energy
**Follow CleanTechies on LinkedIn
**@Silas & @Somil_Agg on X 

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If you're gonna change the world, you're gonna need a world-class team. Partner with ErthTech Talent to help you do that, for less.

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Wait?! -- The best service is also the cheapest? Seems too good to be true, but it's the entire reason we started this company.

We believe that Climate entrepreneurs are doing important work, and there should be a firm to help them find the best talent, without it breaking the bank.

Reach out today for a free assessment of your hiring process. [email protected]

Kevin Noertker is the Co-Founder and CEO of Ampaire, a developer of Hybrid Aviation Propulsion Systems to Decarbonize Air Travel Today.

Currently they are scaling up their tech. Their tech is proven to reduce fuel usage by about 50% for small aircrafts (anything with a propeller).

Today, Kevin shares his story and we discuss:

• Aerospace Engineer to Ampaire: His story of co-founding Ampaire. 
• Addressing Existing Stock: Electric aircraft is the future, but their solution helps address the existing stock of aircraft. 
• Bridging the Infrastructure Gap: How fully electric air travel will require massive infrastructure upgrades, so they are building a solution that will work in between.

Enjoy today's conversation!

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-----
Topics:
**1:53 Intro and Background
**7:01 The Impact of NASA Experience
**14:20 The Third Revolution in Aviation
**17:09 Economic and Environmental Benefits
**28:19 Commercialization Process and Milestones
**38:39 Design Considerations for Hybrid Systems
**42:21 Infrastructure and Charging
**42:58 Recharging Electric Aircraft in the Air
**43:18 Adapting Infrastructure for Electric Aviation
**44:54 Takeaways

-----
Links:
**Kevin Noertker | Ampaire
**Follow CleanTechies on LinkedIn
**@Silas & @Somil_Agg on X 

Support the show

If you're gonna change the world, you're gonna need a world-class team. Partner with ErthTech Talent to help you do that, for less.

• 70+ Placements
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It's really hard to say no to that.

Wait?! -- The best service is also the cheapest? Seems too good to be true, but it's the entire reason we started this company.

We believe that Climate entrepreneurs are doing important work, and there should be a firm to help them find the best talent, without it breaking the bank.

Reach out today for a free assessment of your hiring process. [email protected]

Chad Mason is the CEO and Founder of Advanced Ionics, a company that has designed a revolutionary electrolyzer. They did this by designing their technology from scratch.

They are currently scaling up this innovative technology and plan to sell these units, known as stacks, either directly or through licensing agreements.

Today, Chad shares his  journey:

• Early Inspiration: How he first learned about electrolysis at age 5 on a farm in North Dakota.
• Career Path: The various steps in his career that led him to start Advanced Ionics.
• Strategic Location: Why he chose Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the base for his company.
• Corporate Partnerships: How they partner with corporates for capital, pilots, and demand.

Chad also offers his insights on the future of the electrolyzer space, discussing both the tailwinds that are driving growth and the headwinds that present challenges.

Enjoy today's conversation!

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-----
Topics:
**2:00 Intro and Background
**5:13 Utilizing Exothermic Heat for Efficiency
**6:20 Chad's Entrepreneurial Journey
**12:44 Early Inspirations and Career Path
**15:25 Understanding Electrolysis Technology
**18:18 Components and Operation of the Stack
**26:30 Landing Customers
**27:47 The Power of Partnerships and Investments
**31:26 Lessons Learned: Opportunistic with Capital Raising
**40:58 Headwinds and Tailwinds of Hydrogen Industry
**45;36 The Importance of Reliability and Maintainability
**49:10 Talent Acquisition in Wisconsin
**53:16 Takeaways

-----
Links:
**Chad Mason | Advanced Ionics
**Follow CleanTechies on LinkedIn
**@Silas & @Somil_Agg on X 

Support the show

If you're gonna change the world, you're gonna need a world-class team. Partner with ErthTech Talent to help you do that, for less.

• 70+ Placements
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Wait?! -- The best service is also the cheapest? Seems too good to be true, but it's the entire reason we started this company.

We believe that Climate entrepreneurs are doing important work, and there should be a firm to help them find the best talent, without it breaking the bank.

Reach out today for a free assessment of your hiring process. [email protected]

Jesse Henry is the CEO and Founder of Heartland Industries, a company that produces drop-in pellets made of hemp fiber.

These pellets are used as an additive to plastics. They reduce the weight and cost of the products, improve strength, and lower scope 3 emissions.

It's a quadruple-benefit product.

Today, Jesse tells us his story - how he started Heartland - how he's the 3rd generation to work in the fibers industry - how they landed BASF as a partner and investor - and he gives a lot of other insights. Including our favorite, how they produce huge volumes of pellets without owning a milling facility.

Enjoy today's conversation!

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-----
Topics:
**2:15 Intro
**2:55 Jesse's Background & Heartland's Mission
**10:06 The Challenge of Developing Reliable Supply Chains
**13:33 From Powder to Pellets
**16:47 What it Means to be a ClimateTech Entrepreneur Today
**22:03 Partnering with Wood Pellet Mills for Scale and Cost Reduction
**28:34 Run Jesse's Playbook
**31:16 The Finance of Materials Companies
**34:00 The Power of CVCs
**41:10 Opportunities in B2B Marketplaces
**43:27 How to Pick the Right CVCs
**47:02 Next Steps for Heartland 
**54:58 Process Technologies and Software Solutions
**56:11 Focusing Beyond Carbon
**57:46 Takeaway
**54:51 Using Infrastructure to Skip Building
**56:16 Reducing Risk with Each Fundraising Round

-----
Links:
**Jesse Henry 
**Heartland Industries
**Follow CleanTechies on LinkedIn
**@Silas & @Somil_Agg on X 

Support the show

If you're gonna change the world, you're gonna need a world-class team. Partner with ErthTech Talent to help you do that, for less.

• 70+ Placements
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• The Lowest Fees in the Market (12-15% of first-year salary)
• 90-day placement guarantee

It's really hard to say no to that.

Wait?! -- The best service is also the cheapest? Seems too good to be true, but it's the entire reason we started this company.

We believe that Climate entrepreneurs are doing important work, and there should be a firm to help them find the best talent, without it breaking the bank.

Reach out today for a free assessment of your hiring process. [email protected]

Rahul broke down the nitty-gritty of how 2150 built (no pun intended) a leading ClimateTech VC fund focused on decarbonizing the built environment.

We talked investing, fund modeling, learning from general VC, FinTech in ClimateTech, & more. This was a VC-fundamental extraordinaire, and super informative for anyone looking to learn more about venture capital.

AND let’s not forget, Rahul spent his holiday with us to do this. Cheers to him.

Enjoy 🥳👏.
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-----
Topics:
**03:025 Introduction
**05:01 Home Decarbonization
**08:19 Government Incentives and Policies
**24:37 The Breakdown of Investments in 2150
**33:29 Intentional Modeling and Entry Prices
**42:05 Finance x Climate
**45:20 The Urban Stack and City Resilience
**47:29 Adding Value Beyond Capital

-----
Links:
**Marian Krueger | remove
**Follow CleanTechies on LinkedIn
**@Silas & @Somil_Agg on X 

Support the show

If you're gonna change the world, you're gonna need a world-class team. Partner with ErthTech Talent to help you do that, for less.

• 70+ Placements
• 5+ Years (exclusively in CleanTech)
• The Lowest Fees in the Market (12-15% of first-year salary)
• 90-day placement guarantee

It's really hard to say no to that.

Wait?! -- The best service is also the cheapest? Seems too good to be true, but it's the entire reason we started this company.

We believe that Climate entrepreneurs are doing important work, and there should be a firm to help them find the best talent, without it breaking the bank.

Reach out today for a free assessment of your hiring process. [email protected]

Marian Krueger comes to us with his experience investing in 120+ early stage CDR startups, and broke down what we should look for and what’s worth watching in the years ahead.

He’s a leading expert in CDR having invested in Europe, which is the leading CDR ecosystem in the world.

Sitting down with him as a blast, and for our US listeners, this episode is VERY timely with the Biden Administration’s first release on voluntary carbon markets, Enjoy 🥳👏.
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-----
Topics:
**02:41 Introduction
**05:08 Challenges of the Voluntary Carbon Market
**16:30 CDR Startups
**17:53 Impact-Driven Motivation of CDR Founders
**26:32 Gaps in the CDR Space
**32:27 Role of Policy in Carbon Removal
**39:03 Prioritization, Universities, and A-Teams
**42:10 Collaboration and Partnerships
**42:51 Takeaways

-----
Links:
**Marian Krueger | remove
**Follow CleanTechies on LinkedIn
**@Silas & @Somil_Agg on X 

Support the show

If you're gonna change the world, you're gonna need a world-class team. Partner with ErthTech Talent to help you do that, for less.

• 70+ Placements
• 5+ Years (exclusively in CleanTech)
• The Lowest Fees in the Market (12-15% of first-year salary)
• 90-day placement guarantee

It's really hard to say no to that.

Wait?! -- The best service is also the cheapest? Seems too good to be true, but it's the entire reason we started this company.

We believe that Climate entrepreneurs are doing important work, and there should be a firm to help them find the best talent, without it breaking the bank.

Reach out today for a free assessment of your hiring process. [email protected]

Today, we speak with Arvin Ganesan, an ex-Obama-Admin EPA and ex-Apple Energy Procurement executive. His career is fascinating, from finance to Policy to Energy Tech CEO.

He offers us a lot of insight into their technology, how it works, and specifically how it plays well with utility models of making money.

Towards the end, he mentioned the unknown of the commercialization path. He pointed out that it's not important to pick a model of commercialization with a tech like this because so many variables can dictate the best path to commercialization when the tech is proven past the pilot scale.

Lots of good stuff is in today's episode!

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Topics:
**2:37 Why Cheap and Accessible Energy Storage Matters
**2:37 Why Cheap and Accessible Energy Storage Matters
**17:30 Fourth Power's Utility-Scale Thermal Battery
**21:58 Fast and Efficient Energy Storage and Discharge
**27:10 Building Fourth Power
**32:04 The Power of People
**37:24 Maintaining Culture with Growth
**42:21 Opportunities in the Utility Market
**47:04 Startup Opportunities in Agriculture Decarbonization
**49:01 The Importance of Mentorship
**52:19 Takeaways

-----
Links:
**Arvin Ganesan | Fourth Power
**Follow CleanTechies on LinkedIn
**@Silas & @Somil_Agg on X 

Support the show

If you're gonna change the world, you're gonna need a world-class team. Partner with ErthTech Talent to help you do that, for less.

• 70+ Placements
• 5+ Years (exclusively in CleanTech)
• The Lowest Fees in the Market (12-15% of first-year salary)
• 90-day placement guarantee

It's really hard to say no to that.

Wait?! -- The best service is also the cheapest? Seems too good to be true, but it's the entire reason we started this company.

We believe that Climate entrepreneurs are doing important work, and there should be a firm to help them find the best talent, without it breaking the bank.

Reach out today for a free assessment of your hiring process. [email protected]

Michael Kearney started off this podcast defending the political durability of the IRA…and he had us convinced. If that doesn’t have you hooked, I don’t know what will! 

Building for deeptech founders is HARD…like folding a fitted sheet hard.

And that’s why we need someone like Mike to do it. Mike himself did his undergrad and Ph.D. at MIT, so he’s knows the MIT innovation ecosystem like the back of his hand (The Engine is an MIT spin-out). In between, he spent his time drawing power from the Sun…well not literally…he worked on grid-scale renewable energy at Ambri in corporate development. 

Now, he’s focused solely on supporting “Tough Tech” founders (side note, that’s definitely a favorite term of this podcast now). 

Mike clearly loves doing really easy things…right?
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🌐 Join the CleanTechies Slack Channel

-----
Topics:
**02:29 Introduction
**03:50 Political Durability of the IRA
**07:46 Supporting Tough Tech Startups
**16:06 Scaling from Early-Stage Innovation to Large-Scale Deployment
**26:30 Building in the Field
**28:35 The Investment Model of Engine Ventures
**30:41 Commercializing Technology 
**36:46 The Changing Nature of Competition in Clean Energy 
**45:20 Room for Innovation
**51:36 Takeaways

-----
Links:
**Engine Ventures | Michael Kearney
**Follow CleanTechies on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/clean-techies/
**@Silas & @Somil_Agg on X 

Support the show

If you're gonna change the world, you're gonna need a world-class team. Partner with ErthTech Talent to help you do that, for less.

• 70+ Placements
• 5+ Years (exclusively in CleanTech)
• The Lowest Fees in the Market (12-15% of first-year salary)
• 90-day placement guarantee

It's really hard to say no to that.

Wait?! -- The best service is also the cheapest? Seems too good to be true, but it's the entire reason we started this company.

We believe that Climate entrepreneurs are doing important work, and there should be a firm to help them find the best talent, without it breaking the bank.

Reach out today for a free assessment of your hiring process. [email protected]

There are a few key things Climate Entrepreneurs should know. This guest brought up a bunch of them. 

It is incredible to see how successful they are in a crowded space. Today, he shared with us many of the things that helped them succeed. 

• How to align all stakeholders in the sales process 
• Building a product so simple the user can be up-skilled without specialized training 
• Building a culture of pragmatism
• Speaking Return-on-Investment

Enjoy today's episode, and let us know your favorite moment in the comments (anywhere).

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🌎 Want the full PodLetter? Go to our substack to see the written content that supplements the audio interview.  
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🌴 https://linktr.ee/cleantechies
📺 👀 Prefer to watch: subscribe on YouTube 
🗣️ Take the Listeners Survey 
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-----
Topics:
**2:27 Intro and Background
**3:05 The Problem They Solve
**5:39 Global Emissions from Industry
**11:44 Ideation and Idea Validation
**13:37 Company Status and Growth
**14:56 Challenges and Milestones
**16:38 How / When to Pivot
**18:16 Standing out in a Crowd
**22:53 Market Positioning and Challenges
**25:38 Pragmatism-First Culture
**30:38 Principles and Habits for Success
**32:38 Future Plans and Opportunities
**37:00 Climate Startup Ideas
**37:48 Closing Remarks and Call to Action
**38:41 Takeaways

-----
Links:
**Saleh ElHattab | Gravity
**Follow CleanTechies on LinkedIn
**@Silas & @Somil_Agg on X 

Support the show

If you're gonna change the world, you're gonna need a world-class team. Partner with ErthTech Talent to help you do that, for less.

• 70+ Placements
• 5+ Years (exclusively in CleanTech)
• The Lowest Fees in the Market (12-15% of first-year salary)
• 90-day placement guarantee

It's really hard to say no to that.

Wait?! -- The best service is also the cheapest? Seems too good to be true, but it's the entire reason we started this company.

We believe that Climate entrepreneurs are doing important work, and there should be a firm to help them find the best talent, without it breaking the bank.

Reach out today for a free assessment of your hiring process. [email protected]